home

my tears

have formed

a river

i can cross

to find a place

i call

home

but i am a girl

with a teddy bear

on the street

at nightfall

looking into all the

windows

on my tip toes.

i barely feel

the cold anymore

but i shiver

every night

on the park bench

and my lips turn blue.

maybe i do not belong

here

in the world of smiles

and neat little houses

with billowing chimneys of smoke

because all i have ever known

are doors

slammed shut

sidewalk stoops

and the sound of footsteps

walking away.

home is not here

but somewhere in the sky

that my hand is too short

to reach.